


The Distance Between Us

by orphan_account



Category: Free!
Genre: First Time, Future, Idiots in Love, M/M, Original characters I was too lazy to name, Some Fluff, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-21
Updated: 2013-10-21
Packaged: 2017-12-29 23:59:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1011610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After high school, Rei goes to university in Tokyo and Nagisa gets a job in their hometown. They move on with their lives, but can they ever move on from each other?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Distance Between Us

The plan was to stay in touch, and to an extent they did. Rei was attending university in Tokyo and Nagisa was busy with his new job in their hometown, but they still found the time to text and occasionally call. Nagisa didn’t have the highest attention span, so it’s not like they had long meaningful conversations, but they were still present in each other’s lives. Nagisa even came to visit. Rei slept on the floor, it was simpler that way. It was strange to see Nagisa as a man with responsibilities, but he hadn’t changed much. From his stories, it sounded like he was getting paid to play pranks around the office, have chair spinning competitions and to force feed his boss.

Naturally, Rei was performing extremely well on his course. He didn’t swim much anymore, but he still worked out enough to maintain optimal sporting condition. He had enough acquaintances, so he didn’t get too lonely. Thanks to his high school swim team he had improved his social skills enough to meet new people, tell jokes and be invited out for drinks sometimes, but his life in Tokyo similar to how it had been before he met them; organised, intellectually focused, and stable.

Overall, Rei felt calmer. He wasn’t constantly worrying about Nagisa’s latest scheme, about whether Haruka wished he was Rin or about whether Makoto was disappointed with his latest swimming time. In his little room in Tokyo, things made sense and Rei could live a predictable life rather than being led astray by his emotions. All of this was true, but sometimes he was overwhelmed by sentimental feelings. Sometimes his chest hurt and he wished so much that they could all spend a day together again, swimming and looking at the stars and not having to worry about the responsibilities that came with being an adult.

It’s not like he never saw the others. Makoto lived closest to him now, so they would catch up when they had the time. He’d swam with Haruka, talked to Rin, exchanged messages with Gou; they were doing well, they were still friends, they would still see each other sometimes. It was Nagisa he missed the most.

Rei and Nagisa had always had a strange relationship. They were friends, but by textbook definition (and Rei had read _many_ textbooks) Nagisa flirted a lot. It wasn’t like that sort of behaviour was uniquely associated with Rei himself. Anyone who was close with Nagisa had to be prepared for the constant touching, teasing and squeezing. In fact, Rei could logically explain many of the odd features of their relationship: Nagisa loved to tease him because he got more flustered and irritated than anyone else, they spent most of their time with each other in high school due to the proximity of their classes and houses, they sat too close together, laughing and touching, sharing secrets and hugs because they were _best friends._

Naturally, Rei had always wondered whether there was something else there, something that crept up on them occasionally when their eyes met in a heart-stopping stare just for one heated moment, something that he noticed when they shared a bed because as soon as they turned out the lights the room would feel too hot and they would both be breathing too loudly, tense and too scared to move. It was particularly frustrating, because Rei had never had a best friend before, so he didn’t have any form of control group to compare the quirks of their relationship to. It was a waste of time wondering whether Nagisa, who loved everyone with all of his heart could ever feel the same way that he did. It was a waste of time anyway with the distance between them.

It was difficult to move away. Going to university in Tokyo was something that Rei and his parents had planned for since he was young, but as the time grew closer, Rei found himself doubting that decision. For the first time in his life, Rei had friendships that he wanted to maintain. There were a number of universities that were closer that he could attend. Perhaps they weren’t in the same league, but he could still receive an excellent education there. He spent weeks working on a presentation to explain to his parents why staying in the area was the best option. In the end, no one ever saw it. His father’s illness was sudden and it changed everything.

“We're proud of you, Rei," his usually stoic father said. “You’ll be closer to your brother in Tokyo. He’ll take care of you. We’ve always wanted this for you. ”

His father made it through his illness, but only just. Rei spent his third year of high school worrying. Nagisa didn’t know what to say, but he held Rei's hand and fed him snacks. It was the little things that Nagisa did that were the most beautiful. Selfishly, Rei dreamed that they could go together. Of course, he never voiced such a cruel and foolish request. Third year went by too quickly and before he knew it, Rei had packed up all his books and memories and it was time to leave. Rei’s parents weren’t surprised at all when Nagisa cried loudly as they hugged goodbye and promised to stay in touch. Inevitably that was difficult with the distance between them.

Some days it was sad to think about the empty space where Nagisa had always been. Other days it was a relief to be alone and safe from the confusing teenage feelings that had the potential to ruin their friendship. Rei had thought about how he might confess his feelings to Nagisa, and there were times when he’d almost executed his plan. There had always been something in the way. It wasn’t until his second year in Tokyo, on a dull Tuesday morning, when he finally reconsidered. 

Rei left his morning lecture, planning to head to the library to eat his homemade nutritionally balanced bento and read a book until 30 minutes before his afternoon class started. He was heading down the corridor when he heard a small voice call out, “wait, Ryuugazaki-san.” 

Rei turned to find a young woman from his class. Rei recognised her, they had spoken on occasion during group work, but unfortunately he couldn’t recall her name.

“Ah, hello,” he said, offering a polite smile.

“Um, I wanted to talk to you,” she said. 

“Go ahead,” said Rei. “I was heading to the library if you’d like to join me?

She laughed nervously. “I think that might be a bit too quiet. Would you mind coming with me?”

Rei agreed, following her to a part of the building he’d never visited before, an area designed for students to spend time in between classes. The young woman had a warm face and neat hair. She was dressed in a butterfly dress and rainbow socks, her choice of clothes was really quite beautiful. The only thing she was lacking in appearance was the she didn’t have her name visible on the outside of her jacket as a reference for people who wanted to avoid the awkwardness of asking. 

“Um, Ryuugazaki-san, I wanted to ask you something but… I’m scared.”

“Don’t worry. I often help other students who can’t quite grasp certain theories. In fact, I run a study group in the library on Thursdays if you’d like to join us.” 

She laughed again. “That’s not it. Actually… I really admire you. You’re so smart and handsome and well dressed! I wanted to ask…” She bowed her head low. “W-Would you considering going out with me?”

Rei opened and closed his mouth a few times, face hidden behind his hand. After adjusting his glasses he finally answered, “Thank you, I’m flattered but... I can’t. I'm very sorry.”

The girl looked heartbroken. “Oh. That's... Why not? I-If you don't mind me asking.” 

“There’s someone else... Someone who I like more than anyone.”

“I’m sorry, I asked around but e-everyone seemed to think you didn’t have a girlfriend. I’m so embarrassed!”

Rei smiled sadly. “Actually it’s not like that. I just have someone who I’ll always…” He cleared his throat, and mumbled, "never mind."

“Does she know?”

Rei smiled sadly at the ground. “No. It’s too late now anyway.”

“Why? Have you even told her how you feel?”

“Isn’t this a bit… do you really want to talk about this after I just rejected you?” 

She blushed. “I like you, so I want to help you if I can. Unrequited love is the worst!”

Rei sunk to the ground. “I missed my chance with someone. They moved on."

She sank to her knees beside him. “Maybe you should move on too?”

Rei placed his head in his hands. “That would be the logical thing to do but I can't. No, that's not it... I don't want to.”

“Then there’s only one thing to do. You have to tell her how you feel!”

“Is that my only option?”

“It might not always work out well but…” She laughed awkwardly, “At least you’ll know you tried.”

“You’re right.” Rei leapt to his feet. “I have to go to the library and prepare some notes on how best to present my feelings. Thank you for everything. I really am sorry that I can’t return your feelings. I hope maybe we can be friends…”

“Sure, Ryuugazaki-san. Please let me know how things go!” 

“I will do! Thank you!” Rei broke into a run, regretful that he still didn’t know that helpful young lady’s name.

***

“Rei-chan! Over here!” Nagisa dashed across the platform, waving his arms above his head, drawing the attention of the people around him. Nagisa wasn’t even slightly embarrassed as he threw himself into Rei’s arms in the middle of the busy station. Rei was so happy that he even took a moment to embrace Nagisa back before scolding him for almost pushing them both onto the train tracks. 

“Welcome back! I was really surprised when you suddenly said you were visiting for the weekend.” Nagisa flashed one of his warmest grins. “How long has it been since we last saw each other?”

104 days. “It has been a while, hasn’t it?”

“Did you notice I grew again? I’m almost taller than Rei-chan!”

Rei laughed. “That’s never going to happen.” Nagisa _had_ grown since their first year at school, but he was still shorter than Rei. Although he was almost 21, he looked like a high schooler in his grey work suit and pink polka dot tie. It fitted his slim, muscular body perfectly. Rei had picked out his most beautiful clothes for the occasion, but he felt underdressed in comparison. 

“Let’s go eat! There’s this place near my office that does really good food, I bet you’ll love the sushi there!”

“Very well,” Rei said.

Nagisa started to tell a funny story about Haruka and his kitchen sink and Rei smiled, just listening to Nagisa talk. He'd forgetten how wonderful that expressive and excitable voice sounded. It was a simple thing to be happy about, just walking together like old times. He felt complete, like he'd come home and found something that he'd lost.

A group of men in suits waved Nagisa over when they entered the restaurant. After exchanging greetings with his work colleagues, Nagisa politely declined joining them (“Me and Rei-chan have a lot of catching up to do!”) and dashed off to find a table. Rei stood awkwardly, assessing Nagisa’s associates. They were probably nice people, but they were not the most aesthetically pleasing group.

“So you’re Rei-chan,” the balding man said after the silence had stretched out for too long. “I always thought Rei-chan was Hazuki’s cute girlfriend.”

“You idiot,” the man with oversized glasses snapped. “He’s the butterfly that wears speedos!”

“Ah, the guy who sunk like a rock,” the man with the unfortunate haircut added, slamming his beer down onto the table enthusiastically. 

“H-how do you know that?” Rei asked, looking between the men.

“Yes, he was on the swim team with Haru-chan and the others!” Oversized glasses said, ignoring Rei. 

The balding man looked confused. “I always thought Hazuki swam with the girls' team. I mean, their names…”

“How could a girl wear a speedo?” Unfortunate haircut frowned. 

The balding man blushed. “In my head it looked pretty cute…”

“Excuse me! How do you know who I am?” Rei asked, projecting his voice over their chatter. The men (and several other customers) turned to look at him. He adjusted his glasses.

“Nagisa is always talking about you,” the man with the oversized glasses said. “I guess he has some really good memories of high school.”

Rei felt his face heat up. It was incredibly sweet, that Nagisa still thought about them all often. It made him think that maybe, just maybe, Nagisa might accept his feelings. “Thank you for taking care of Nagisa-kun now,” he said. 

“He’s a good kid,” said the man with the unfortunate haircut. “He’s young but he’s good at what he does, even if he does cause a bit of trouble.”

“I wish I was as popular as Hazuki is,” the balding man said, sighing. “I just want to be young again!”

“Are you crying about that again?” Nagisa said, placing both hands on Rei’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Tama-chan, I’ll introduce you to some cute girls next week. I got us a table over there, Rei-chan, let’s go.”

“Ah, right. Nice meeting you all,” Rei bowed.

“See you later speedo!” One of the men called out as they left.

***

They shared a wonderful evening catching up, laughing like they'd never been apart. It was only slightly tainted by Rei's worries about the reason he had decided to visit so suddenly. His friend was completely oblivious, more than happy to take the food that Rei was too nervous to eat. 

It would be so easy to delay the awkward conversation again, Rei thought to himself as he sat in Nagisa’s tiny new apartment. He would be content to sit and watch TV together, to tidy up the mess while Nagisa was in the bath, to pretend to fall asleep on the floor and avoid the burden of sharing the same bed. They could share a comfortable and enjoyable weekend together as friends, completely ignorant of the feelings Rei had felt for _years_. It was the thought of going back to university with the same empty feeling in his chest that Rei couldn’t stand the thought of, so when Nagisa walked in carrying some drinks from the kitchen, Rei sat up straight and pushed his glasses firmly up his nose and said, “I need to talk to you.”

“What is it? You look even more serious than usual!” Nagisa said, as he bounced down beside Rei on the small sofa and threw his jacket and tie onto the floor.

For the first time he could recall, Rei’s mind failed him. All the words he had spent hours deliberating over suddenly disappeared and he was left with nothing. He grabbed the drink that had been placed down in front of him and took a big gulp.

“As you know I’ve been away for a long time now. I’ve met new people and had new experiences and I’ve even been able to make some friends, but I have to say…” He took a deep breath. “That you... Before I met you making friends was…” He began to mumble under his breath. “No that’s not what I wanted to say. Time to recalculate.” 

“Hey, are you ok? You're bright red. Do you have a fever?” Nagisa shoved his hand to Rei’s forehead.

Rei inhaled sharply. “Out of all the beautiful people I’ve met in my life, I can only think of one person who I think about all the time, only one person who changed my life and led me to do things I never would have even considered. I've never acknowledged how much that meant to me but...” Rei closed his eyes tightly. “Nagisa-kun, I miss you so much when I’m away, all the time, because-”

“Rei-chan!” Rei dared to look and Nagisa was staring, his big eyes filled with tears. “I feel the same way. You’re my best friend and I miss you too!” He dived forward into a hug, a huge smile on his face.

“It’s more than that,” Rei murmured low, next to Nagisa’s ear. “The evidence is irrefutable. I’m in love with you.”

“What?” Nagisa pushed back from the hug in shock. “Why? Why would you… say that?” 

Rei felt his heart shatter. He should’ve known to listen to his logic instead of his completely biased emotions. “I-I’m sorry, I just-”

“Why now?” Nagisa’s face was crumpled up in sadness. “I was so lonely without you and then… Why are you saying this now when I’ve finally managed to move on after you rejected me?”

“What? W-when? Nagisa-kun, I would never reject you!”

“But you did!! I told you so many times before you went away how much I liked you and you just said,” Nagisa lowered his voice to sound more like Rei, “ _Understood_.” 

“I didn’t know that was a serious confession! You’re always running around saying how much you like people. Just earlier you were saying how much you love Haruka.”

“But that’s different, that’s just Haru-chan! And Rei-chan is Rei-chan," Nagisa pouted.

Rei sighed in frustration. “You can’t possibly expect me to understand that.”

“And then before you moved away, I asked you not to go or… at least to take me with you and you just ignored me,” Nagisa sniffled.  


“I don’t recall that ever happening.”

“Just before you left. I slept… over at yours and when we went to bed I told you e-everything and you… didn’t say anything back.” Nagisa said, tears rolling down his cheeks.

Rei put a hand on Nagisa’s shoulder “Nagisa-kun, when you told me all that, was I asleep?” 

“What?”

“Was I asleep when you confessed your feelings to me?!”

“…Well, I was definitely awake.”

Rei shook Nagisa by the shoulders. “You confessed to me when I was asleep?!” 

“No! I…” Nagisa stopped to think. “I thought you were just thinking really hard.” 

“YOU CONFESSED TO ME. WHEN I WAS ASLEEP.” 

“You’re supposed to be a genius! How was I supposed to know you weren’t listening?” 

“How would I…” Rei stopped to calm himself. “Wait a minute, why are we arguing about this? Shouldn’t we be discussing the fact that I have feelings for you, and you… how do you feel about me? Did you really move on?” Rei felt like he might cry too, if he’d waited too long, if he’d left it too late. 

Nagisa let out a huge sob and threw himself back into Rei’s arms. “I love you! Even though you live far away, even though you nag me, even though you sleep through really important stuff, I want to be with you Rei-chan! How about you?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Rei smiled.

Nagisa grabbed Rei’s shirt and pressed their lips together. The kiss wasn’t quite how Rei had always imagined it would be. There were a few accidental bumps and his partner had yet to wipe his nose after all that crying. There were also things he hadn’t planned for, like how warm Nagisa’s lips were, how he seemed to know exactly what to do with his tongue, the faint taste of beer and the softs sounds he was making. When they broke their kiss to breathe, Nagisa’s shirt was halfway unbuttoned and Rei’s glasses were hanging off his face at an awkward angle. 

Nagisa took the glasses from his face and put them on. “ _Beautiful_ ,” he said, attempting to do an impression of Rei. “That’s what you’re thinking right?”

Rei smiled and then suddenly he was laughing harder than he ever had before. Nagisa gawped for a moment, like seeing Rei laugh so freely was the strangest thing he’d ever seen and then he collapsed against Rei and laughed too. They sat there for a while, giggling like children as the tension that had slowly built up between them for years melted away.

“Take those off before you damage your vision,” Rei murmured after a while, attempting to catch his breath.

Nagisa placed his glasses neatly on the table (next to what was probably a week’s worth of dirty dishes) while Rei fumbled in his bag for his emergency packet of tissues to dry Nagisa's damp eyes with. He'd just about finished when Nagisa tackled him and they fell backwards on the couch and their noses bumped together and their lips met again.

They started with slow, short kisses, smiling against each other's lips because this was _finally, finally happening._ It felt so natural, so right. Nagisa purred in delight when their tongues licked together. Rei pushed his fingers through the soft blond hair that always smelled so nice, he’d always wondered what it felt like. There was so much time to make up for, they should have done this years ago. Nagisa tossed both their shirts onto the floor without even breaking the kiss and held Rei down as he struggled to get up (it would only take a minute!) to fold them. Nagisa succeeded in distracting Rei with a sharp roll of his hips and wet kisses on his neck.

They rocked against each other slowly at first, experimenting with sharper thrusts and harder kisses, gradually gaining speed until they were shamelessly thrusting against each other, panting and gasping, Nagisa making indecent sounds that Rei had always dreamed of hearing. Rei bit Nagisa's bottom lip, clinging to him tightly so he didn't disappear. It was a while before they finally broke their kiss, needing more. Nagisa sat up on Rei’s hips. Even without his glasses, Rei could make out the smirk on Nagisa’s flushed face as he licked his lips and slowly unbuckled Rei’s belt. He urged Rei to lift his hips and removed his trousers and underwear in one motion. When Rei was completely naked, Nagisa stopped to stare with his mouth half hanging open.

“Wow, Rei-chan,” he murmured, his voice dripping with seduction. 

“Don’t use that voice,” Rei exclaimed, attempting to cover himself up with a cushion. “It’s too embarrassing.”

“Eh, but this is my first time seeing you like this. Even when I tried to peek in the locker room you were always so shy. I’m impressed because Rei-chan’s so big- ah!”

Rei dragged him back down for a kiss. It was his first successful attempt at getting Nagisa to shut up. He fumbled with Nagisa’s belt, since it was too humiliating to be the only one naked. Rei made a note to keep his glasses on next time. He couldn’t fully appreciate the beautiful sight before him but it would ruin the mood (and look horribly perverted) if he suddenly put them back on. He ran his fingers down Nagisa’s back and lower instead, taking the time to appreciate his wonderfully soft skin. 

“I always imagined doing this with you when I…” Nagisa said, touching himself lightly. 

“I... me too,” Rei said, face hidden behind his hand. “Um, this is my first time doing anything like this…”

“We can take it slow,” Nagisa said tenderly.

Nagisa pulled him so that they were both sitting up and straddled him, letting out a nervous giggle when they were sitting so close that they were touching _everywhere._ He moved Rei’s hand so that it was wrapped around both of them.

“You’re hands are bigger,” Nagisa said, moaning as Rei started to move his hand. “Do it hard, Rei-chan.”

They moved together, Nagisa sucking on Rei's neck while he stroked them both. Naturally, he’d seen Nagisa red faced and out of breath after swimming, but this was something entirely different. Every fantasty he'd had about the two of them together was _nothing_ compared to the real thing, to touching Nagisa, hearing him moan and whimper and say how good it felt. Rei bit down on his own lip to try and minimise the sounds that he was making, but it was difficult to stay in control. 

“You’re making the cutest expression,” Nagisa said, pulling away the hand that Rei was using to cover his blushing face. “Stop hiding from me.”

“But it's not-” Rei started. 

“You are beautiful. Ah - wanted this for so long... Please, Rei-chan.” Nagisa gasped, bringing his hand down to join Rei’s and squeezing hard. 

“Nagisa…” Rei moaned loudly. He closed his eyes and let himself go. “I never thought, I thought there was no way…”

They pumped their hands in time, gasping into each other’s mouths, hips jerking wildly until they finally tensed up and let go and Rei couldn't think a single coherent thought that wasn't _Nagisa_. They collapsed together after, Nagisa pressing the sticky mess they had made onto Rei’s chest and placing soft kisses anywhere he could reach. Rei kissed his cheek before carefully cleaning them both up with his emergency tissues. 

“Does this mean that… are we officially a couple now?” Rei asked, after a while.

“You’re five years too late,” Nagisa murmured, his head resting on Rei’s shoulder. “But you’re my boyfriend now, right? You better be awake enough to listen this time.” He punched Rei playfully on the arm. 

“Listen! That was entirely...“ Rei managed to stop himself from starting their first official argument, prodding Nagisa’s face lightly. “Are you awake enough to answer a serious question?”

“Sure,” Nagisa said, but his eyes were closed.

“Move in with me,” Rei said. “You have your job and of course I’m still at university, so we’ll probably have to wait until I graduate. It’s completely illogical, since we don’t even know if we’ll make a good couple and your mess will probably drive me insane, though quite frankly, it will good to have someone around to tidy up after you. The fact is," he stopped to take a deep breath, "We’ve wasted enough time. You don’t have to answer right away, in fact you’re probably not even listening but…” 

Nagisa’s face appeared in front of his, eyes wide open in shock. A warm grin spread across his face and he hugged Rei so tightly that he could barely breathe. “I’d love to, Rei-chan! I’m so happy!” He leapt to his feet, still completely naked and punched a fist into the air triumphantly. Rei put his glasses and underwear back on and smiled as he watched Nagisa dance around the room. 

“Do you want to take a bath first?” Rei asked, after a while.

“One minute,” Nagisa said, still bopping his head to an imaginary song, “I’m texting Haru-chan and the others to tell them everything.”

“S-surely not everything?”

“They’ll be really happy for us, Rei-chan!”

“Yes, but what do you mean by telling them everything?”

“Let’s take a bath together! There's so many things we have to try.”

"Nagisa-kun! Why do I have a text message from Gou-san asking if I’m planning on being a top or a bottom?” 

“That’s a good point, which one do you want to try first?”

“Nagisa-kun, what did you tell them? Hey, don’t run away from me!”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading this! I'm not completely happy with this, but I have too many Reigisa feelings...


End file.
